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926th Wing
|allegiance= |branch= |type= Wing |role= Composite |size= |command_structure= Air Force Reserve Command |garrison= Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada |equipment_label= WA |battles= |decorations= |disbanded= |current_commander= |identification_symbol= |identification_symbol_label=926th Wing emblem (Approved 22 November 1982) |aircraft_attack= A-10 Thunderbolt II |aircraft_fighter= F-22 Raptor F-16 Fighting Falcon F-15 Eagle |aircraft_recon= MQ-9 Reaper MQ-1 Predator }} The 926th Wing (926 WG) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The unit is a composite organization consisting of two Operations Groups, the 726th and 926th, gained by Air Combat Command and Air Force Space Command, with Geographic Separated Units (GSU)s at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada; Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. Overview The 926th Wing is an associate unit to the United States Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis AFB. The unit provides reservists to the USAFWC as sustained expertise integrated at the operational and tactical levels of warfare. It continuously conducts combat operations, operational test and evaluation, tactics development, and advanced training to warfighters. The 926th Wing's 726 OG supports the U.S. Air Force's first Unmanned Aircraft Systems wing, the 432d Wing/432d AEW, equipped with more than 100 MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft, in its mission to train pilots, sensor operators and other UAS crewmembers, and conduct combat surveillance and attack operations worldwide. Units The 926th WG consists of two Operations Groups and thirteen squadrons located at Nellis and Creech AFBs and at other geographically separated locations: * 726th Operations Group (Creech AFB, NV) ** 78th Attack Squadron ** 91st Attack Squadron ** 429th Air Combat Training Squadron (Holloman AFB, NM) * 926th Operations Group (Nellis AFB) ** 706th Fighter Squadron ** 26th Space Aggressor Squadron (Schriever AFB, CO) ** 14th Test Squadron (Schriever AFB, CO) ** 379th Space Range Squadron (Schriever AFB, CO) ** 84th Test and Evaluation Squadron (Eglin AFB, FL) * 926th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron * 926th Force Support Squadron * 926th Aerospace Medicine Squadron * 926th Civil Engineer Flight History Cold War On 28 December 1963 the 926th Troup Carrier Group was established at NAS New Orleans, flying C-119 Flying Boxcar aircraft as part of a Tactical Air Command (TAC) decision to organize all troop carrier forces, regular Air Force and Air Force Reserve, into wing-group-squadron configurations. In 1967, the unit designation was changed to the 926th Tactical Airlift Group, reflecting broader airlift capabilities to include transporting equipment and supplies for deployments worldwide. In 1969, the 926th TAG experienced another conversion as transitioned to the C-130 Hercules. In October 1972, members of the 926th TAG flew two C-130 aircraft into South Vietnam as part of the Air Force-wide program designed to provide the South Vietnamese with increased cargo capability before the war came to an end. In 1977, the Air Force announced the 926th TAG would convert to the A-37 Dragonfly fighter aircraft, bringing with the conversion a combat mission and a new designation, the 926th Tactical Fighter Group. The 926th TFG continued to fly the A-37 until June 1982 when the group completed a conversion to the A-10 Thunderbolt II. Gulf War When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the 926 TFG began deploying people and A-10 aircraft in support of Operation Desert Shield. Then, in December 1990, approximately 450 members of the 926th TFG were recalled to active duty in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm as the nation's first Air Force Reserve combat unit recalled to active duty. Modern era In February 1992, the unit was redesignated as the 926th Fighter Group. The name change reflected the inactivation of the Tactical Air Command and the establishment of its successor organization, the Air Combat Command (ACC). The group began conversion from the A-10 to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, which was complete by October that year. Two years later, on 1 October 1994, the unit officially became the 926th Fighter Wing. In 1995, the 926 FW converted back to the A/OA-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft. The conversion was completed and the unit became combat-ready in September 1997. In the late 1990s, the 926 FW participated in deployments patrolling the no-fly zones over Iraq in support of Operation Deny Flight, Operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch, and in 1999 returned to Kuwait to participate in Aerospace Expeditionary Force One. After the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, members of the 926h FW were mobilized and deployed to various locations worldwide in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Noble Eagle (ONE). The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission identified the 926 FW for inactivation, with personnel and aircraft relocating to four bases. The damage caused to NAS JRB New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina accelerated the process from two and a half years to nine months. By the spring of 2006, the A-10s transferred to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, while logistics readiness support moved to Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado and the command element moved to Nellis AFB, Nevada. In October 2007, the 926th Group (926 GP) was officially activated at Nellis AFB. With the growth of the AFRC support to the Air Warfare Center, the 926th Group was redesignated the 926th Wing on 5 December 2014. At the same time, two Operations Groups were activated to command the thirteen associated reserve squadrons. Lineage * Established as the 926th Troop Carrier Group, Medium and activated on 28 December 1962 (not organized) : Organized in the Reserve on 17 January 1963 : Redesignated 926th Tactical Airlift Group on 1 July 1967 : Redesignated 926th Tactical Fighter Group on 1 April 1978 : Redesignated 926th Fighter Group on 1 February 1992 : Redesignated 926th Fighter Wing on 1 October 1994 : Redesignated 926th Group on 17 August 2007 : Redesignated 926th Wing on 5 December 2014 Assignments * Continental Air Command, 28 Dec 1962 * 446th Troop Carrier Wing (later 446th Tactical Airlift Wing), 17 Jan 1963 * 433d Tactical Airlift Wing (later 433d Military Airlift Wing), 1 Mar 1968 * 446th Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 Oct 1969 * 442d Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 Jul 1972 * 434th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 Jan 1978 * 442d Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 Feb 1984 * 917th Tactical Fighter Wing (later 917th Fighter Wing), 1 Jul 1987 * 301st Fighter Wing, 1 Aug 1992 * Tenth Air Force, 1 Oct 1994 – Present Components * 726th Operations Group: 5 Dec 2014–present : Creech Air Force Base, Nevada * 926th Operations Group: 1 Aug 1992 – 17 Aug 2007, 5 Dec 2014 - present * 26th Space Aggressor Squadron: 17 Aug 2007 – 5 Dec 2014 * 78th Attack Squadron: 17 Aug 2007 – 5 Dec 2014 * 706th Fighter Squadron: 17 Jan 1963 – 1 Aug 1992; 17 Aug 2007 - 5 Dec 2014 * 926th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron * 926th Force Support Squadron * 926th Aerospace Medicine Squadron * 926th Civil Engineer Flight Stations * NAS New Orleans (later, NAS JRB ANG; ARS), Louisiana, 17 Jan 1963 * Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, 17 Aug 2007 – Present Aircraft * Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1963-1970 * Lockheed C-130 Hercules, 1969-1978 * Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, 1978-1982 * Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (later OA-10), 1981-1992, 1996-2006 * General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, 1992-1996 References Notes Bibliography * Category:United States Air Force Reserves Category:Military units and formations in Nevada 926